WordPress versus Wix – Which is better?
WORDPRESS VS WIX: WHICH IS THE BEST FOR DESIGNING AN E-COMMERCE STORE
This WordPress vs Wix comparison will blow your mind. There’re numerous website builders, such as Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly.
Millions of users have created websites with the help of these providers due to their unrivalled ease of use. However, numerous use cases cannot be realized with a website builder.
And this is where WordPress vs Wix comes into play. WordPress, in particular, is the world’s largest content management system (CMS), with an estimated market share of 43.3 per cent. Since we work with WordPress every day, we’d like to use this article to help you make an informed decision.
Today, no serious entrepreneur can afford to be without an online presence. But what should you do if you lack the necessary programming abilities?
The solution is to use a content management system or CMS! After installation, you can use it to create, design, and manage a website without having any prior knowledge of HTML.
And, so that you, too, can reap the benefits of this CMS, in our next blog article, we will walk you through the process of creating a website with WordPress.
WORDPRESS VS WIX: WHAT ARE THEIR PRINCIPAL DIFFERENCES?
Let’s start with Wix!
WHAT IS WIX
Wix is a free hosted all-in-one website builder that allows you to create a website from scratch with no coding knowledge.
It’s marketed as a tool for beginners, and customer service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Wix is a platform that allows you to create your website without knowing how to code. It’s a software as a service (SaaS) tool, which means you don’t own it but pay a monthly fee for using it.
It’s well-known for its eCommerce solution, as it enables users to create their online store.
The platform was founded in 2006, and Builtwith.com reports that there are approximately 7 million Wix websites in existence at the time of writing. The company employs over 5,000 people.
WHAT KIND OF WEBSITE CAN I CREATE WITH WIX?
- Business/Corporate WordPress Websites
- eCommerce Store
- Portfolios WordPress Websites
- Podcast WordPress Websites
- Government Website
- Knowledge Base WordPress Websites
- Social networks
- Membership WordPress sites
- News and Magazine WordPress Websites
- Jobs Board WordPress Websites
WHAT IS WORDPRESS?
Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little founded WordPress in 2003 as a blogging tool, but it has since evolved into a full-fledged website building platform.
As of 2021, there were over 1.3 billion websites online, with WordPress Content Management System accounting for 455 million of them.
WordPress also boasts over 2 million yearly downloads, and its popularity is steadily increasing. According to Kinsta.com, WordPress powers approximately 43.3 per cent of all websites on the internet. Fast forward to 2022, and it’s now enormously.
TYPES OF WORDPRESS HOSTING
Hosted WordPress
Hosted WordPress, available at WordPress.com, is a software as a service (SaaS) tool for building and managing websites, similar to Wix.
Although it began as a blogging service, it has since evolved into a full-fledged website builder. You pay a monthly fee (ranging from $7 to $59) to use it, and this grants you access to a wide range of features that aid in the creation of a website.
Self-Hosted WordPress
Self-hosted WordPress is website creation and management software that you can download from wordpress.org and install on your web server.
This, of course, implies that you’ll need to purchase some hosting for your website to have a place to live.
WordPress is now open-source, which means that the code that powers it is freely available and easily modifiable.
Self-hosting your WordPress site entails downloading your copy of the WordPress content management system (CMS), visiting a domain provider, and signing up for a hosting service to host your site on the Internet.
WordPress.org provides users with a free copy of the WordPress CMS.
Customization Options
WordPress customization options are entirely dependent on the theme you’re using.
Premium WordPress themes typically have a plethora of customization options, allowing you to drastically alter the layout of your website.
However, with free WordPress themes, you are usually limited to making only minor changes such as the typefaces, text colour, button colour, etc.
In terms of typefaces, many WordPress themes include a plethora of web fonts. Alternatively, you can install yours by using a plugin or by editing your site’s CSS.
By CSS, I Cascading Styles Sheet, the code that determines the visual appearance of your website.
And, while we’re on the subject of CSS, the built-in WordPress customizer makes it very simple to add your CSS to your site.
On its part, Wix’s built-in Editor makes it very simple to edit and customize templates. Simply click on the web element you want to change and then click the Change Design button to see the various design options available to you.
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WHAT KIND OF WEBSITE CAN I CREATE WITH WORDPRESS?
- Business/Corporate WordPress Websites
- eCommerce Store
- Portfolios WordPress Websites
- Podcast WordPress Websites
- Government Website
- Knowledge Base WordPress Websites
- Social networks
- Membership WordPress sites
- News and Magazine WordPress Websites
- Jobs Board WordPress Websites
USING WORDPRESS OR WIX FOR YOUR ECOMMERCE STORE IS A QUESTION OF CHOICE
If you want to launch an eCommerce store on the cheap, you have two options: use WordPress or one of the many drag-and-drop DIY website builders like Wix.
Both options offer a strong and adaptable framework for developing your website, as well as a system for managing and publishing content online.
WordPress is completely free to use and can be installed on any server that supports PHP and MySQL, which is almost all commercial servers these days. Website builders typically charge a monthly fee for the duration of your use.
WORDPRESS VS WIX
If you’ve heard of Wix, it’s probably because of their massive advertising campaign, which included big-name movie stars, pyrotechnics, and a multi-million-dollar budget. You probably imagine the platform as fast, young, and fashionable.
You can call it a kind of Apple for website builders: the platform for cool guys who need those catchy designs.
WordPress, on the other hand, would be more like Windows as we know it today: a popular platform with a plethora of grey menus.
However, while both ideas have a grain of truth to them, they do not hold up to scrutiny.
We hope that after reading this article to the end, our unbiased analysis will assist you in determining which solution is best for your website.
We aren’t here to use that flowery business jargon or explosive marketing strategies. Our mission is to make you see reasons to make the right choice.
- EASE OF USE
First and foremost, let us compare the ease of use, that is, are Wix and WordPress easier to use in terms of operation?
WIX:
With Wix…
You can create an account on Wix’s website, select a domain name, and begin designing your website without delay.
Wix has an excellent drag-and-drop editing system that allows you to create beautiful websites quickly and easily.
Wix is one of the most user-friendly website builders available. The Wix Editor is completely intuitive – especially for beginners – and relies entirely on “drag and drop,” i.e clicking and dragging with the mouse.
If you require additional functions, there is a dedicated app store where you can install them with a single click.
WORDPRESS:
WordPress is also known for its extensions and plugins, but these aren’t always simple to install or use.
Similarly, the software requires a certain level of technical knowledge or, at the very least, the ability to use tutorials.
And, as soon as (not if) something doesn’t work, finding a solution can become difficult.
OUR VERDICT
When it comes to ease of use, Wix and WordPress are tied. Both provide simple code-free methods for creating content, creating pages, and managing business and eCommerce websites.
And with Elementor Plugin, the process even gets more exciting with WordPress.
Wix’s editor interface is excellent, but it lacks advanced capabilities. WordPress provides ease of use that can be extended with a small learning curve. This can be beneficial in the long run.
DESIGN AND FLEXIBILITY
WIX:
There are over 1000 professionally designed templates to choose from, but you can’t change them without redesigning your site.
These are stylish, modern, and organized into categories such as photography, fashion, restaurants, blogs, magazines, etc. The fact that they’re unresponsive is a disadvantage.
As a result, and for mobile phones, you may need to modify some elements for the website to look good on mobile as well. The templates, too, cannot be modified with code, but if you can, you can do a lot of amazing things with them.
Wix designs are 100% responsive and written in HTML5. You can further customize your site’s design, change the layout, and rearrange items as you see fit using their built-in tools.
WORDPRESS:
If you have PHP, HTML5, CSS, or maybe Bootstrap knowledge, you can have almost limitless aesthetic control over your site. Remember that we recommend using WordPress themes created by the platform itself.
There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available. Free themes have limited support, but they’re also subjected to a rigorous review process.
Paid WordPress themes typically have more features and premium support options.
WordPress themes range from personal blogs to full-fledged eCommerce stores. Most themes include built-in customization options.
To further style or customize your WordPress themes, you can use one of the many styling plugins available.
Users can get free themes from the WordPess.org directory. There are several WordPress theme and theme shop options for paid themes, including OceanWP, Astra, StudioPress, Themify, CSSIgniter, and others.
You can also contact Tradmill Digital Marketing to hire a developer to create a custom eCommerce store for your business.
OUR VERDICT
WordPress has a far greater selection of themes and design layouts than Wix. With a click of the mouse, WordPress users can easily switch themes and customize them to their desire.
APPS AND PLUGINS
Plugins and apps are third-party extensions that you can use to extend the functionality of your platform.Wix refers to them as apps, while WordPress refers to them as plugins.
Let’s look at the apps and plugins available on both platforms and what they can do.
WIX:
Wix comes with nearly 200+ apps that you can use to customize your website. These apps include a variety of features such as contact forms, galleries, comments, social media buttons, email marketing, and so on.
Many of the apps are either free or have a limited version. Other apps require monthly payments and come in a variety of price ranges.
Despite the limited number of apps available, they cover the most frequently requested features by site owners.
WORDPRESS:
At the time of writing, there were over 58,000 free plugins available in the WordPress.org plugin directory. Not to mention the premium plugins that can be found on other marketplaces.
You might have heard of the saying; “If you can think of a feature, there’s probably a WordPress plugin that can make it happen.”
There is a plugin for everything, whether you want to create a contact form, install Google Analytics, build a membership website, or sell online courses.
WordPress allows you to do almost anything you want. There are numerous plugins, both free and paid, that you can use to create the website of your dreams.
OUR VERDICT
WordPress easily outperforms Wix in this category as well. Even though Wix’s app library is expanding, it still pales in comparison to the vast selection available to WordPress users.
The winner is determined by a random drawing! WordPress has the most options, while Wix has excellent apps, particularly for industry-specific features.
BLOGGING
WIX:
Wix is yet another fantastic blogging platform for creating visually appealing websites.
Wix is one of the best free blog sites to start a new blog, with a plethora of simple drag-and-drop templates and free site hosting.
It’s user-friendly, but it may take some time for beginners like maybe you, to go through all of the features.
Wix makes it simple to include articles, images, and videos. However, and as we’re soon going to see, nothing compares to WordPress in terms of customization options.
WORDPRESS:
When it comes to blogging, WordPress remains #1 because it’s extremely useful.
With WordPress, you can add articles, pictures, and videos and customize their appearance with a variety of special effects.
You can also quickly add tags, categories, comments, directories, and many other things.
When blogging, your article must appear on the first page of Google search results.
WordPress has a significant advantage in terms of SEO. Both Wix and WordPress have basic SEO features, but WordPress can also include Yoast, Rank Math, and other tools that strengthen its SEO performance.
WordPress was used to create the website you’re viewing right now.
So, our team at Tradmill Digital Marketing, Sheffield, South Yorkshire is ready to use WordPress to design a highly responsive and user-friendly website for your personal use and your business.
OUR VERDICT
As a blogging platform, WordPress far outperforms Wix. Wix blogs are overly simplistic and lack some important features.
If you want to start a blog that you want to scale and make money off it, Wix isn’t even close to competing with WordPress.
E-COMMERCE STORES
WIX:
If your choice is Wix, you can choose from over 500 store templates designed by professionals to fit any eCommerce store.
You can also make it yours by personalizing everything from the storefront to the checkout process, including the product pages, cart, and store members area.
Wix eCommerce employs the same simple and intuitive drag-and-drop editor as seen in the advertisements, allowing you to create your eCommerce website.
There’s no need for coding, hosting, or stress – just choose a template, customize it by dragging and dropping elements like text boxes and images around your pages, and then hit publish!
All of Wix’s eCommerce plans include a variety of great sales tools. These features can be seen in action on websites using Wix.
Any of its eCommerce plans include built-in sales features. Ideal for selling a few items.
WORDPRESS:
Aside from CMS, WordPress has a strong presence in the eCommerce market. WooCommerce, a WordPress eCommerce plugin, is used by 5,106,506 websites.
Every day, WordPress.org receives 30,000+ downloads of WooCommerce. 8.7% of websites use WooCommerce. Furthermore, it hosts over 3 million live websites worldwide.
Alright, the question now is…
Should you use WordPress for your online store?
Well, I’ll urge you to continue reading to learn about the benefits and drawbacks of this eCommerce CMS.
To create an online store, you must first install a plugin such as WooCommerce. Better suited to pure eCommerce sites or bulk sales.
OUR VERDICT
We chose WordPress because, aside from its ease of use, it’s several plugins, including the WooCommerce plugin, which allows people to easily take their goods and series online and optimize them for search engines.
WIX VS WORPRESS: PROS AND CONS
WIX PROS
- A lot of beautiful templates you can choose from.
- Easy design tools to simplify your design
- Tasteful design choices and layouts.
- Several royalty-free images.
- With Wix, you can preview your page pretty fast.
- You can add apps like bookings or a store.
- It’s very easy to edit.
WIX CONS
- Pricing is high for a start-up.
- The backend is messy and difficult to navigate.
- You’ve fewer layouts to choose from
- There aren’t enough templates.
- Severely limited designer mode.
- There are so many options that a beginner could get easily confused.
WORDPRESS PROS AND CONS
WORDPRESS PROS
- Integrate with almost any marketing platform.
- It’s simple to have multiple users on the platform at once.
- There are far too many educational courses and videos.
- It still performs admirably on low-end servers.
- The dashboard is well-organized and simple to use.
- There’re numerous plugins available to provide additional functionality.
- It is simple to preview your changes before publishing content.
- WordPress is a free and open-source software platform.
- There are thousands of themes and plugins to choose from.
- It’s the most popular Content Management System on the web, far more popular than Wix, with WordPress powering nearly 43.3% of the entire web.
- There are regular updates and a thriving community.
- It has superior content management capabilities and a better blogging module than Wix.
- It is highly customizable; you have complete control over every aspect of your website.
WORDPRESS CONS
- There are very few native features; almost everything requires a plugin.
- Sometimes plugins conflict with each other. Need to seek advice from third parties on how to do more complex tasks.
- Although the WordPress software is free, launching a WordPress site necessitates the purchase of a domain and hosting.
- You’ll have to do all of the technical heavy liftings on your own if your hosting company isn’t very cooperative.
- The themes function in very different ways. Just because you’ve mastered one doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use another right away.
- There is no onboarding, making it difficult for first-time users to get started with WordPress.
- There is no direct support. Though there are support forums, they are inadequate in comparison to Wix’s support.
From the above article, it gets even clearer on the need for you to use a combination of WordPress and the eCommerce plugin to take your store online and start making more sales.
As you can see, more than 5 million websites using eCommerce plugins to launch their websites on WordPress can’t be wrong of course.
Do you’ve any questions or problems with your WordPress Site, contact us to sort it all out for you. We build them both and we are SEO experts to help your business get traction on the web. Then contact us for solutions to your problems
Are there any content marketing challenges our team can help you resolve?
If your business needs a digital transformation or any digital online advice, you should go ahead and get in touch with Tradmill Digital Marketing. You will fall in love with the results that these specialists can offer you in the long run! Call us on 07818 406870 or email us at paul@tradmill.co.uk
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